


Tonight we let it all go free

by Oopswakanda (orphan_account)



Category: Black Panther (2018), Marvel Cinematic Universe
Genre: Cause Bucky is a horndog for his princess, Christmas Fluff, Christmas in Wakanda, Drabble, F/M, Pre-Relationship, Shuri is a tease, Unresolved Sexual Tension, day two: tree lighting, winterprincess, winterprincess week Christmas edition
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-12-27
Updated: 2018-12-27
Packaged: 2019-09-28 11:47:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,065
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17182394
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Oopswakanda
Summary: "Why are you guys here ?"The question snaps Shuri back to her usual energy and he sees her clapping her hands together in delight, plastering on a smile on her beautiful face."It's Christmas !"Bucky blinks stupidly. "In Wakanda ?"She nods and fiddles with her kimoyo beads."Yes you old man. It's Christmas in Wakanda so hurry up so we can go outside and celebrate !"





	Tonight we let it all go free

**Author's Note:**

> Merry Winterprincess Christmas ! The prompt for day two is "Tree Lighting".

"Wake up sleepyhead !"

 

Bucky loathes to sleep in the dark so there's always some dim light in his little cabin. He opens groggy eyes to the sound of that sing song voice of hers he's been missing for weeks and blinks to adjust his vision. This is a dream, he's sure. It cannot be his Princess right there, kneeling on his bed, towering over him and tickling his face with the curtain of her braids. She cured him but could never stop the treacherous fantasies he has of her because this time, she's an Elf.

 

The prettiest sexiest Elf Bucky has ever seen.

 

Shuri is in Oakland right now, probably delivering a speech as guest of honor at the Outreach Center's first Christmas gala. A thousand miles away from the gross fantasies of a one-armed old man. But Bucky misses her so much he dreams about her constantly. 

 

"You're so gorgeous", he says to Elf Shuri, voice slurred by the remnants of sleep. 

 

This is a dream. It's the most logical explanation. At least, that's what he thinks when he relaxes and drinks in the sight of her in her dark green, tight fitted dress with an off the shoulder sleeve of faux fur that makes saliva pool inside his mouth. There's so much skin. She looks freaking edible so the White Wolf smiles, sits up and he licks his lips before leaning in, taking a bite over her shoulder. He doesn't have time to register the way her breath hitched at the contact because she's pulled away from him and he now feels the sharp end of a vibranium spear tickling his throat. 

 

That's when it finally clicks. 

 

"Barnes ! Sort your mind out right now or I'll make you", Okoye threatens. 

 

One blink and Bucky finally sees. There's two other Doras at the end of the bed that stare at him in shock. The newest recruit, Aminata, is massaging Shuri's shoulder. If the General didn't look so angry at him, he would have teased the hell out of her about the white and red bonnet tilting off her bald head.  It even has red snowflakes that lit up rythmically. She's not the only Dora wearing one, he registers as his gaze roam over the room. It stops on Shuri whose bronze skin nearly turns crimson at the cheeks, hand gripping the shoulder he just bit into. 

 

He realizes painfully that this isn't one of his stupid dreams and color drains away from his face. The sight of the woodened framework of his cabin achieves to shower the last shreds of his dignity. Bucky shuts his eyes and takes a slow breath. He exhales as slowly as possible. 

 

"Sorry i...i'm so sorry"

 

His eyes find Okoye's and after scrutinizing his face, she retracts her spear back. Bucky would have stood up to beg for Shuri's forgiveness as well but his nighttime routine includes sleeping naked and he doesn't wanna end up like a human skewer on Okoye's spear. In self awareness, he checks for the covers and sighs in relief when it stretches high enough to cover his lower half. The silence quickly turns uncomfortable so Bucky breaks it. 

 

"Why are you guys here ?" 

 

The question snaps Shuri back to her usual energy and he sees her clapping her hands together in delight, plastering on a smile on her beautiful face.

 

"It's Christmas !"

 

Bucky blinks stupidly. "In Wakanda ?" 

 

She nods and fiddles with her kimoyo beads."Yes you old man. It's Christmas in Wakanda so hurry up so we can go outside and celebrate !". Her enthusiasm embalms the tension in the room and they all can't help but smile fondly at their Princess before she leads her entourage to his front door. Shuri looks over her shoulder before stepping outside. 

 

"You got exactly five minutes thirty to be decent. Be on time, Sergeant."

 

It takes him one to rush out of bed and slip into his favorite pair of linen pants. Putting on a wool tunic with a single arm is more of challenge. He chooses wool because by now, he knows even Wakandan summer nights can get chilly. He gets into his white flipflops that Shuri always teases him about, not bothering to put on a wrap over his hollow arm. Bucky is about to reach the threshold when Shuri commands him to close his eyes only to open them on the count of three. 

 

The first thing he registers when he closes them is a loud pop. Then it rains. And Bucky doesn't get wet. What falls down his shoulders are soft and dry paper snowflakes. His blue gaze stares ahead after Shuri excitedly shouts "One!" and his mouth slacks open at the sight. It shouldn't be this impressive really. Because he looks at the same trees everyday. But now, adorned in what looks like a thousand filament bulbs, the scenery looks straight out of a fairytale. His garden turned into an oasis of light and magic, Bucky thinks as he appreciates sparkling white tones contrasting with rich green. On smaller trees, the lights are wrapped from trunk to branches like candy canes. On larger trees, they string from the branches in single garlands and some of them are so long they zigzag down the grass, casting a magical glow at their feet. 

 

He finally whips his head from the enchanting sight at the sound of Shuri's happy giggle. She looks twice as smug from usual, obviously recording Bucky's reaction with the holo coming  of her beads.

 

"Princess, get this camera out of my face !"

 

Instead, Shuri circles around him and snickers.

 

"Who knew the White Wolf could be such a diva ?"

 

 "Please"

 

His voice sounds choked up and Shuri's gaze meets his. He needlessly scratch the soft wool of his top and averts his eyes so she cannot see the unshed tears but his Princess probably did anyway. The digital holo closes and Shuri puts a comforting hand on his back. 

 

 " _Guys, your turn !_ ", Shuri says in Xhosa as she glances at the closest bushes.

 

At her signal, three kids sneak out of their hideaway, bursting in laughter as they point their confetti cannons at Bucky and Shuri. Another stream of tiny paper snowflakes mixed with sparkles blows in Bucky's face and he chuckles though his next hair washing day is bound to be a nightmare. Hilarity turns into shy self awareness again for him when elders come to join the ruckus with plates full of delicacies in hands and santa bonnets on their heads. And he can't contain his emotion when the chief approaches him with open arms, wishing him a Merry Christmas in a heavily accented English.

 

He knows Shuri filmed the whole interaction and for once, he's grateful she did.

 

* * *

 

 

Hours later, when the surprise party has ended and they're both seated on a lakeside log, waiting for the sun to rise, he looks at Shuri and for what seems to be the 100th time since he knows her, he says thank you. Okoye and Bucky both insisted she wears a wrap and the sight of her all cozied up at his side is so domestic he wants to fall to his knees and beg her to stay.  It's silly but sometimes, he gets those flashes. Dangerous pictures of Shuri and him living in the country, tending to his goats together. It dawns on Bucky he wants to see her beautiful face for the rest of his life. While he loves her youthful beauty, he's so curious to see her age. Anticipates the way time would show on her skin, proof of how long and well she'd live. Most importantly, he wants them to age together. But amazing genes run in her family and when Bucky asked her once how her mother managed to look this timeless, she nudged him with her elbow and said 'Black don't crack'. Besides, serum runs through his veins and he'd loathe to live past her because of it. The thought of a life without Shuri in it scares him shitless. 

 

Shuri must see the shift in his expression because she snuggles closer.

 

"What's going on big head ?", she quips but Bucky sees the real worry in her eyes. 

 

The earlier events come back to him and he suddenly wonders how he's still allowed the privilege of sitting close to her after fucking up so badly. He looks over his shoulder to see the three Doras standing a few feets away, far enough to give them privacy just as Shuri commanded but still close enough to intervene should he get any bad ideas.

 

" Shuri...i'm sorry i bit you."

 

He winces right after uttering the words, realizing how ridiculous it sounded out loud. A flush creeps up her face and Bucky bites his lip to keep from running his mouth. 

 

 "It's fine. But you shouldn't take that White Wolf monicker so literally", she jokes before averting her gaze. 

 

Bucky gives a shy chuckle and shakes his head fondly. They watch the sun rise in silence, contemplating the way it ignites the sky in soft orange and yellow tones, making the surface of the water shimmer like rhinestones. Shuri stops gripping her wrap with both hands and he feels her trembling fingertips edging closer to his right hand. His breath hitches when she slowly interweave their fingers while keeping her gaze focused on the lake.

 

“Your Highness”, Bucky whispers with a ragged breath, hoping that using the title will stop his body from being set ablaze by her touch.

 

But he doesn’t let go and stares at her profile in awe. Shuri tightens her hold on his fingers.

 

“Don’t give me titles”, she pouts, still avoiding his gaze. “Did you like your Christmas gift ? I tried to go for romantic.”

 

Bucky looks her up and down and in the softest tone he can manage, he says yes. But it comes out all croaky. Shuri just said _romantic_ and the word now turns into a loop inside his brain while his heart throbs in his chest.

 

“I loved it. Truly. Thank you so much. Now I wonder how to find a gift for you that will live up to that...”, he trails, mind already drifting to the ways he could show his gratitude to her.

 

“Buck, don’t even bother. I’m a Princess. I can buy anything I want.”

 

“ _Ouch_. Remind me who complained about titles less than a minute ago ?”, Bucky chuckles as he turns his gaze to the sunrise again. She giggles as well.

 

“I have an idea. Of how you could repay me for this.”

 

He straightens his stance and listens carefully.

 

“Secrets”, she whispers.

 

Bucky parts his lips open at that. “H-how ? You already know everything there is to know about me.”

 

She raises her eyebrows. “Do I ?”

 

The look she gives him is meaningful. Indeed, she doesn’t.

 

Doesn’t know the way his white tunic looks painted on her skin and see through after she takes a midnight bath in the lake, looking all the world like a water nymph. Doesn’t know the way he dreams of taking her just down the same grass that grazes their feet. Doesn’t know just how high she keens and mewls for him in his fantasies when Bucky invades her body over and over and over. Doesn’t know how strong he imagines himself just for her, with _both arms_ carrying her bridal style when her legs can’t support her anymore.

 

So Bucky swallows down his ridiculous desires, hoping the truth doesn’t show too much on his face and gives her a friendly smile which looks more like a grimace than anything remotely reassuring.

 

“Promise me you’ll tell me all your secrets Bucky”, Shuri says before slowly disentangling their fingers. “And don’t forget you have a checkup with me on tuesday.”

 

She softly yawns as she gets out of her wrap, stretching the muscles of her back and arms as her jet lag gets more obvious. Then, she looks at him, fists resting on her tiny hips. Bucky’s gaze can’t help but go at the shoulder he grazed his teeth with . Shuri follows his gaze and gives him a sly smile in return.

 

“What were you even dreaming about, _Ingcuka_ ?”

 

Shameful, Bucky lowers his eyes to his single palm which still buzzes from her touch and shakes his head fondly when his mischievous princess snorts in laughter.

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm loving this Winterprincess week muse. Hope you enjoy this one as well !


End file.
